What sort of cat gets stolen the most often?

The sort of cat that gets stolen the most often is the cat which is the most glamorous. It is the cat with the best appearance. The cat with bling. They don't have to be purebred cats although they nearly always are. I don't think the people who steal cats necessarily know their cat breeds. They will target cats because they are pretty and therefore very saleable.

Leopards Realm Bengal Cats. Photo: the breeder. This is a cat with plenty of bling. And bling is attractive to everyone including thieves.

And as it happens, one of the most glamorous-looking cats is the Bengal. This is a purebred cat as you no doubt know. They have high contrast coats. They look like wild cats which makes them even more glamorous. They move quickly and are alert. Sometimes their coats have rosettes which are hollowed out spots.

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Their high contrast coat comes from their wild cat ancestor which is the Asiatic leopard cat. So, the Bengal cat is high on the list of most desirable cats to steal as per the Reader's Digest website.

Thieves will target cats that they can sell easily and therefore they will know that they must be the most popular cats if they are targeting cat breeds. Another popular cat breed and one which is very easy to spot and highly distinguishable from the other breeds as the Siamese.

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Modern Siamese cats are very noticeable because they are very slender. They are in fact unusually slender in comparison to the other cat breeds except for the Oriental Shorthair which is in the Siamese cat family.

The Reader's Digest website also tells us that Russian Blue and Ragdoll cats are more often targeted by thieves. Once again, they are particularly desirable domestic cats. All these cats are in the top bracket of popularity.

The Ragdoll cat is currently going through a phase of improved popularity because they are well suited to being full-time indoor cats. And there is a trend towards keeping cats indoors both for their safety and peace of mind for their owner.

The Maine Coon is the second most popular cat as registered by the CFA. This is a very large cat which will be very noticeable if allowed to wander around an urban environment. There will certainly be more exposed to theft than a random bred cat.

Another cat which is highly distinguishable is the hairless Sphynx. Although owners of Sphynx cats never let them outside and therefore the Reader's Digest website is incorrect in saying that they are likely to be stolen. This breed should be kept inside full-time to protect their hairless skin.

Lastly, the Scottish Fold is currently popular with celebrities. You can see a lot of celebrities with their cats on social media websites such as Instagram in which they present to the world their Scottish Fold cat. They have an interesting baby-like appearance because their ears are flat to the head. 

This is what is particularly appealing to many people including celebrities such as Taylor Swift who likes to carry her Scottish Fold around under her arm. She tends to think of her cats as her babies.

Many thefts of domestic cats occur in an informal way. These are not necessarily purebred cats of any breed. They are not necessarily fantastic looking cats but domestic cats who like to wonder into other people's homes where they sometimes take up residence.

Sometimes cats simply move home and there is not a lot that the original owner can do about it. Is it theft? It probably is if the "new owner" or "new caregiver" refuses to give the cat back to the original owner as this would meet the definition of theft i.e. an intention to permanently deprive the owner of the cat.